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December 07, 2009

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Hey you! Have you noticed the handy little
recipe box icon in the left-hand column? It’s the very same recipe box I picked
up at a used bookstore in Minneapolis a few years back and absolutely had to
have, even though it’s the old style and doesn’t fit today’s "plus-sized" recipe
cards. Click on that icon and you’ll be brought into the world of Transplanted
Baker recipes, sorted by ethnicity (aka: Scandinavian or American), type
(bread, pie, cookie, cake, etc...), and ingredient (with nuts, with cream, with
love, etc...) I think it’s pretty handy.

And now for today’s post:

Every home should have a few standard
Christmas cookies.

Be it corn flake wreaths dyed electric
green and decorated with red hots or something weird and pruney that Grandma’s
been baking for years, it’s important to find a few favorites, a few classics,
a few standards to rely on to get you in thatholiday spirit.

Today, you’re in for a treat. Figuratively, yes,
but also quite literally. These last few cookie recipes in my 7 Cookies of Christmas series will
be dedicated to the ones I grew up with. The “Larson Family Favorite Three”,
we’ll call them. Consider yourself lucky to gain such easy access to recipes long
held up on a pedestal.

How about kicking it off with a little
chocolate. Some might claim that there’s a serious lack of chocolate on this
blog. Would it boost my readership to sprinkle in a few more chocolate recipes?
Would you like me more if I shared more photos of chocolate covered cookies,
puppies, and rainbows?Granted
these little guys may be better suited under the“candy” label in your recipe box, but for the sake of easy
and for the sake of Christmas, we’ll lump it together with the other cookies.
Besides, just like a really good cookie, you’ll find yourself eating 5 of these
in one sitting and wondering why your pants no longer button come New Years Day (if
this does, indeed, become your problem, may I recommend maternity pants to each
and every one of you. Yes, even the men and grandmas out there- full of elastic, they’re the
most comfortable things in the world and no longer look frumpy. Take my advice, and I won’t
tell a soul).

Chocolate peanut clusters are one of my
mom’s holiday standards. She’s been making them for years with four simple
ingredients and always Spanish peanuts, but I’ve done a little fancy work this
year and tossed in a few pieces of dried fruit to make them extra tasty. Dried
sour cherries and raisins work well with salted peanuts, but use what you like,
or just what you have on hand. I’d bet pistachios and craisins would make a
great combo. My next attempt will be with little pieces of gingerbread! This is
a quick, hard to screw-up recipe, that involves no baking and minimal talent.
And they make a great gift!

Christmas "Cookie" # 5

Mom’s Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Mammas Sjokolade og Peanøtt "Klumper"

From my mom,Rachel Larson, of St. Paul, Minnesota

*Makes a heap- enough for your family’s Christmas
tin plus a few dozen to give away

In mom’s words: DO NOT BOIL THIS! Melt chocolates and almond bark over
low heat, use double boiler if you have one, otherwise just watch carefully.
Add nuts (and fruits, if using), by spoonful onto waxed paper or into small
paper cups (sometimes called petit four papers) before mixture hardens.

Hi Katie!
I'm quite sure that almonds would work well as a peanut replacement. Although I'd try to find some salted ones, because I really think it's the salt on the peanuts that works so well with the chocolate. I even made a few this year that were just with dried fruit and those got the thumbs up from a fairly picky Bent.